


Late Night Worries (& Other Oneshots)

by Zeldamushroom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Onion | Allister and Saitou | Bea are Siblings, Sibling Fluff, but arent main characters so they dont get a tag, the rest of the gym leaders are mentioned at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeldamushroom/pseuds/Zeldamushroom
Summary: Allister's anxiety keeps him awake, but luckily his adoptive sister is there to help.Turning into a collection of oneshots. Requests are welcome. No nsfw suggestions.
Relationships: Onion | Allister & Saitou | Bea
Comments: 26
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

It was a cool, quiet night in Stow on Side. The weather was overcast with a slight breeze, providing enough natural noise for all of the city’s residents to get some much needed sleep and relief from the normally arid weather. One resident was unable to rest despite the perfect conditions, and the young gym leader tossed and turned on his very cozy bed, exhausted but unable to sleep.

“Mim?”

“Sorry Mimikyu… Havin’ a hard time tryin’ to sleep… The bed is so soft and warm… but my brain isn’t lettin’ me rest… bad night with worryin’. Hate bein’ able to think.” Mimikyu nuzzled Allister and tried to comfort him, but passed back out in the coziness of the bed. Allister petted his cuddliest pokemon on the head before sliding out from under the blankets to avoid disturbing it.

 _They’ve been working real hard. They deserve the sleep._ He sat down in his desk chair that was beside the window and looked out into the darkness. When his anxiety was bothering him this badly, he would normally already be in Bea’s room, telling her everything that he was upset about and Bea giving him good advice and reassurance in return. Two factors kept him from making the mad dash between their rooms; the first being that it was three in the morning and Bea was likely sound asleep, and the second was the worrisome thought that his adoptive sister secretly hated him and couldn’t wait to leave him the second she got a chance.

Allister took a look down and realized that his arms were shaking horribly. In an attempt to calm himself down, he picked up his favorite out of his several masks piled around his room and tried to swap it for the one he was currently wearing. The young gym leader didn’t even realize he had been crying until he felt a dampness on his cheek while changing out masks. He kept looking back and forth between his bed and the door. With his softest pillow and blanket in his arms, he made his way to the door.

 _This way I can still be with my sis without waking her up. Hope she doesn’t accidentally step on me…_ The creaking of his bedroom door startled him, and he tossed the pillow and blankets at the invader.

“S-sis?”

“Yeah it’s just me. What are you doing up so late?” Bea knelt over to pick up the bedclothes from the floor and handed them back to her little brother. She gently stroked his hair, a gesture that usually calmed him down after a bad dream. Allister held his arms out, timidly asking for a hug to which Bea happily obliged.

“C-can’t sleep at all… worryin’ too much…”

“I understand Alli. Do you want to go downstairs and discuss what’s bothering you over a cup of warm tea? Or I guess in your case, you would prefer milk.” Allister nodded and held onto Bea’s hand as she led him downstairs.”

“What ‘re you doin’ up so late? Or is it early for you?”

“I woke up craving water at one this morning, and then couldn’t go back to sleep after that. I thought about checking on you to make sure you were okay but I didn’t want to disturb your rest. I should have checked earlier since you’re pretty bent out of shape right now.” She carefully got two mugs out of the kitchen cabinets, pouring Allister a serving of milk before sticking it in the microwave and brewing some tea for herself. Allister clutched his sister’s pajama shirt the entire time, wondering to himself why he was being so clingy, but at least Bea didn’t seem to mind.

“C’mon Alli, I’m going to set our drinks on the coffee table next to the couch and you can tell me what’s bothering you.” Allister took a seat next to his sister and cradled the warm cup in his hands.

“W-well… it’s a little bit of everythin’ tonight that’s keepin’ me up…”

“You need to be a little more specific if you want me to help you feel better. It would be like me trying to tell you the way to cure your anxiety is to stop worrying.” Allister giggled a bit at the crappy advice his school councilor had given him before taking a sip of milk to help organize his thoughts.

“Part of it is about me runnin’ the gym… Keep worrying that I won’t be good enough to be on the league next season and then you’ll be disappointed in me… it doesn’t really worry me as much at it annoys me, but the league staff baby talks to me a LOT but then also expects me to know everythin’ that all the other leaders know already and take on all the responsibility without your help… M eight and know what a pokemon battle is but I don’t know how to pay bills…”

“I know running the gym can be hard since we aren’t supposed to win all the time. Our job is to test if the gym challengers are strong enough to face Opal, Melony or Gordie, Piers, and Raihan. If we won all the time, then there wouldn’t be any new participants in the champion cup, and that’s the whole point of the Galar league. But I know it was hard for me to learn that lesson too. My parents taught me that only victory matters, and that I was a failure if I wasn’t the very best.”

“Y-yeah. You’re parents were scary and I cried every time they tried to put me through their training stuff. M glad you decided to take me with you.” Allister shuddered at the memories of having meltdowns from being pushed to his breaking point almost every day. He decided to take another swig of milk to tone down the bad memories.

“Do you want to talk about anything else?” Allister stopped midsip and started coughing when a few droplets went down the wrong pipe. A few strong pats on the back helped him clear his windpipe, although the choking made it more difficult than normal for him to speak.

“Promise you won’t get mad at me?” Bea put her pinky around the one her brother offered and put an arm around his shoulder. It still took several minutes for Allister to find the right words and the courage to speak. Even then, his speech was full of shakiness, stuttering, and pauses.

“W-well... um… I know you said you’ll always be here for me no matter what, b-but I just feel like I’m drainin’ all your time and energy that you could be usin’ to train or run our gym. I f-feel like you would be b-better off with me g-gone and then you w-wouldn’t c-constantly have to fix my mistakes c-cause I’m havin’ a m-meltdown over makin’ the mistake in the first place, and I constantly worry about stuff that you tell me will be fine. I want to b-believe you so bad b-but my brain won’t believe it. M tired of worryin’ and M tired of cryin’ and I just wanna go to sleep!” Allister curled up into himself, sobbing and hyperventilating into his knees and refusing to look at his sister.

“Allister, I didn’t realize how upset you were about all this. Why didn’t you come get me earlier?”

“Th-that’s another thing I hate about myself! I c-can’t do anything without havin’ a stupid panic attack. I wanna be strong like you and do some things without help but I can’t! I’m just weak and useless and don’t know why you keep me around since ‘m just a huge burden…”

“That’s enough of that talk Allister. You have no idea how much you’ve helped me just by being around and being yourself.” Bea grabbed a tissue and wiped the tears that were dripping out of the mask, and patiently waited until Allister was ready to remove it before she started cleaning the rest of his face up. Bea motioned for her younger brother to sit closer to her, but Allister decided to opt for his favorite cuddling position, with his head tucked under Bea’s chin and his arms loosely placed around her shoulders.

“Alli, do you remember how things were when you first came to live with my family?”

“You were really scary and kinda mean…”

“Yep, the only things I cared about were my training sessions and the few people that encouraged me to continue those. I had decided I didn’t want or need anything else and came off as cold and rude to avoid forming new attachments to other things or people. But then you came along and taught me that there is much more to life than that. I realized that other people are not as lucky as I am and need help to survive. I had to learn how to be compassionate and show my emotions instead of suppressing them for the sake of appearing strong. I probably would have never learned any emotional intelligence if it hadn’t been for you. I love you and wouldn’t give you up for anything.” Bea squeezed her little brother as tightly as he could handle.

“S-so it’s okay for me to be clingy and anxious and you don’t want to leave me somewhere in the middle of the wild area?”

“Of course Alli. Anytime you decide to sneak out, I always come and look for you to make sure you’re okay. If I didn’t want you, then I wouldn’t hire a search party every time you go missing. It’s also okay for you to have doubts and insecurities, and it’s okay to talk to me about them too. You have an anxiety disorder and a not so great past, so those things come naturally to you. If you’re ever feeling anxious at this time of night again, I want you to come get me, okay?” Allister nodded and yawned, letting his mask fall from his hand onto the couch.

“Want to stay with me tonight?” Bea stood up and kept her arms around Allister so she could carry him back upstairs.

“P-please. Love you.” Allister was out like a snorlax after a large meal by the time Bea made it to the top of the stairs and she let out a smile. She carefully tucked him in under a soft blanket before scooting in next to him.

“Love you too Alli. Sweet dreams.”


	2. A Small Favor

“Okay, I want yall’s advice on something. Bea has been taking care of me for years now and put up with a lot of stuff, and it’s about time I did something to show I appreciate her. What do you think I should do to make her happy?” Allister paced back and forth in front of his ghost pokemon, who were diligently watching their trainer.

 _“We can prank her!”_ Gengar was the first to speak up and several of the ghost pokemon agreed with him.

“ _Yeah! Lets see, should we prank her by invading her dreams or jumping through the walls? I think causing havoc in her dreams sounds more fun! But then again, seeing her panic and scream in this world is fun too!”_ Dusknoir and Runerigus started making plans while Allister started sweating.

“No, no, no! I know pulling pranks on each other is how ghosts bond, but Bea won’t like it… it just upsets her and makes her paranoid and kind of distant for the rest of the day…”

_“That’s because I lick her after the pranks sometimes!”_

“GENGAR! We’ve been through this a lot of times! You don’t lick people because it steals their life energy!” Allister sat down, a bit winded from his lecture.

 _“Fine. What do normal people like?”_ All of the ghost pokemon finally settled down and surrounded Allister, ready to listen.

“Well it’s kinda hard to generalize what everybody likes since me and Bea are a lot different from normal people too, but giving people things they like and doing stuff that they don’t like doing themselves are both good ways… But I spent all my allowance on pokemon cards and fruit gummies this week, and I can’t touch my bank account from the league until I’m at least ten… so I can’t buy her anything. And the only chore Bea really hates is cleaning the bathroom, but I get sick from the fumes everytime I try to help her…” most of the pokemon just shrugged and went about their business, but mimikyu snuggled against Allister’s side.

 _“It’s okay master. Bea knows how much you love her and you’ll eventually think of something that will make her happy.”_ Allister smiled and gave his mimikyu a huge hug.

“You sometimes stay up with her after she puts me to bed. Has she mentioned anything that she would want?”

 _“No, but she did thank me for being the only member of your team that constantly doesn’t scare the- well she told me not to tell you the exact word she used. But I can’t thing of anything that she’s mentioned that you’re capable of doing for her.”_ Allister sighed and leaned his head on mimikyu’s disguise.

“I’m trying to think of stuff she does for me that I can do for her… Let’s see… she stays with me until I go to sleep every night… lets me stay with her after a bad dream… washes and folds my laundry… helps me with my homework… carries me if I’m scared or tired… cooks all of my food… Wait a minute, Bea said I can use the microwave as long as I’m really careful. Maybe she would like it if dinner was ready when she gets home tonight. What do you think mimikyu?”

 _“She would love that master! Let’s get started!”_ The pokemon let out a raspy purr as Allister lifted it and allowed it to rest on his head, not concerned about whatever horrible creature was lurking underneath.

“ _Aren’t you going to ask the rest of the team for help?”_ Allister set mimikyu next to him and started digging through the cabinets and refrigerator.

“No. I’m afraid they would put something gross like mint into her food and then Bea wouldn’t want me anymore. Can you help me look and see if stuff has directions to microwave it?”

“ _I would master, but I am just a pokemon and cannot read. However, you can tell me what it is and I can tell you if it’s something Bea enjoys. I sometimes watch her sneak junk food after you go to bed. She looks at me and tells me not to tell anyone, but it’s not like anyone else can understand me besides you._

“Bea said it’s kind of like me wearing my mask. She just feels more comfortable if people don’t know that she secretly likes sweet stuff. She says she would feel weak or like a disappointment if people found out. That’s also why she never smiles or shows any emotion unless she’s home.” Allister looked at his finds which consisted of a bag of chicken nuggets, some frozen vegetables, and some cookie dough. He quickly got to work, managing to thoroughly warm everything. He was climbing the counters to get to the plates when he heard trying to get in the house.

“Mimikyu, can you check if that’s Bea?” Mimikyu peeked through the door meant for smaller pokemon and let out a grunt of confirmation. “Okay can you distract her for a few minutes? I still have to plate the food and set the table. Get the tennis ball so she thinks you want her to throw it for you.” Allister started rushing to put everything on the table, accidentally making some very loud noises.

“Alli, what’s going on in there?” Allister panicked and accidentally spilled the milk he was trying to pour.

 _“Crumbs! I was doing so good keeping the kitchen clean like sis likes it…”_ The doorknob started turning as Allister placed the glasses on the table and awkwardly stood next to the dining table. Mimikyu rode in on Bea’s shoulder with a tennis ball cleaved in two after a wild round of fetch. Bea just stared at the food on the table, and Allister grew more nervous by the second.

“ Um… I m-made dinner to t-try to help you some…” Allister felt a tear slide down his face and tried to stop his lower lip from wobbling. Bea knelt down to his level and hugged him.

“Thank you Alli. I’ve just had a long day with gym challengers so that’s why I didn’t react at first. But it is kind of funny because I had a similar idea.” Bea opened the bag she was carrying and pulled out a few movies and bags of popcorn. “The past few weeks at school have been hard for you since you’re balancing school and running the gym. You’ve been doing a great job with it and I thought you could use a treat.”

“Ooooh okay! I just thought you were disappointed…” Allister used his floppy sleeves to wipe off his face and smiled at his sister.

“No, I’m very grateful Alli. It’s just surprising that you decided what to make for dinner and you put vegetables on the menu.”

“Y-yeah… I wanted you to be proud of me.”

“I’m very proud of you Allister. Are you actually going to eat a few bites?” Bea gently teased her brother and laughed as he grew a bit flustered.

“Um… I don’t know about that…”

“I’ll help you build a pillow fort if you try to eat them.”

“Deal!”


	3. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Chikuseren for the suggestion. Hope it's everything you ever dreamed of!

Bea trudged home from the gym, exhausted from the day’s battles. Five challengers had attempted her gym challenge and lost, but three of them had won rematches after adding some magic from the tangle to their teams. Although each of the battles were exciting, Bea was exhausted from leading her team and knew that her pokemon were feeling it more than she was. Rest was a top priority for everyone, but Bea couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

_It’s probably because I’m tired. I’m sure everything is fine._

A red flag went off in Bea’s mind as she realized the front door was still locked. Allister usually left it unlocked when he got home from school, unless he was paranoid that something was out to get him. The lack of shoes and a bookbag by the door didn’t soothe Bea’s nerves and she started pacing.

“Okay Bea, get it together. There’s no need to panic. He might have decided to do homework in his or my room.” Bea checked all of Allister’s usual hiding places: the top of the pantry, under the beds, the pillow fort they had set up weeks ago and was kept out upon Allister’s request, and the backyard, but Bea. She took a seat on the bottom of the steps and screamed when Allister’s gengar decided to scare her by phasing through the floor and screaming in her face. The punch she threw went right through the mischievous creature as it laughed at her expense. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her rotom phone to start what she meant to do before the spooky encounter.

_Hey Alli, I’m just checking in since you aren’t home yet and I’m getting worried. If you don’t reply in ten minutes I’ll come looking for you. You aren’t in trouble, I just need to know if you’re safe._

“Hawlucha, Falinks, I would like you two to accompany me since you weren’t involved in the challenge matches today. Hawlucha, I would like you to fly over the town and see if there’s any sign of Allister, that would be great. Falinks, you’re good at fitting into small spaces that Allister likes to hide in but I’m too big to get a good look.” Both of the pokemon agreed to their tasks and Bea decided to get a headstart on looking because the anxiety about her little brother being missing was too much to handle. After the ten minutes, she had arrived at the elementary school, but still hadn’t heard back from Allister. The school yard was completely deserted and it was obvious they wouldn’t make any progress there.

“We’re going to go on the path on the outskirts of town. It’s less crowded than the route that cuts through the marketplace and there’s a graveyard that branches off, so he usually goes that way.” With Hawlucha taking an aerial lead, the trio looked in every possible hiding spot along the ruins and rocks.

“Links! Fa falinks!” the pokemon circled what looked like a shattered white rock. Bea’s heart dropped upon closer inspection where she realized the coloration and pattern matched Allister’s mask.

“That’s definitely not a good sign, but that also probably means he’s close by. We need to pick up the pace.” A shriek from Hawlucha caught Bea’s attention and she noticed it was going for the graveyard. Bea picked up the brass and ran with it so the rest of falinks would go at the same pace. She heard a commotion of unfamiliar voices and could spy Allister hiding and trembling behind a large gravestone, which was a slight relief to Bea seeing that her brother had been located. After she got a bit closer, she noticed three kids she didn’t recognize with Allister’s mask and bookbag, and various school supplies littering the ground.

“Hey if you don’t come out right now, we’re going to break your mask!” Allister continued hiding and Bea grew infuriated upon seeing her brother’s favorite possession slammed into the ground before shattering against the stony path. Her attention shifted to the sounds of a Mimikyu that had seen enough and was hissing, growling, and throwing some threatening gestures with a shadowy hand.

“Mimikyu stop! You’re g-going to give away our hiding spot!” Unfortunately, the whisper was not very subtle and everyone’s attention was directed over to Allister.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t ghost kid! What’s the matter? Are you looking at every graveyard in Galar to see if you can find your parents? Oh wait, they probably wouldn’t want you anyways because you’re so weird!” Bea resisted the urge to strangle a third grader as she snuck up being the group before clearing her throat.

“That would be enough. I’m going to walk the three of you back to school, you will call your parents and tell them that you spent your afternoon bullying another child, and if I EVER see this behavior from you lot or anyone else, you will be disqualified from participating in the gym challenge. Do I make myself clear?” The steely, no nonsense gaze and the threat of losing the change to participate in Galar’s greatest tournament was enough for two of the kids to follow Bea’s orders right away. The ringleader of the group was not phased and kept advancing toward Allister.

“I’m being serious. Stop. Now.”

“But you don’t understand. Allister is a huge weirdo that talks to ghosts because nobody else likes him, he’s a huge crybaby and can’t go a day without crying in class, wears that stupid mask all the time, and does this weird walk like he’s always trying to keep his balance.”

“I do understand actually. That is my fellow gym leader and he also happens to be my brother. If you ever try to hurt him again, I will follow through with disqualifying you from the gym challenge and there will be an angry mob of ghost and fighting pokemon that would perceive you as a threat, and I cannot guarantee that I would be able to stop them before they got to you. Do you understand?” The kid paled and looked back and forth between Bea and the Mimikyu flexing two shadowy arms before nodding.

“Good. Now you three are going to pick up every scrap of paper, every pencil, everything you dumped onto the ground and put it back where it’s supposed to be in his bag. This kind of crap will not be tolerated and there will be consequences if it happens again. Allister, will you be fine for a few minutes while I take them back to their parents?”

“Y-yeah…” After Allister was sure that his least favorite people left, he crawled out from behind the stone and pulled Mimikyu into his arms. He shakily stood and grabbed his bookbag before looking sadly at the spot where his mask had met an unfortunate fate. He kneeled down and tried to pick up the shards when a shadowy claw stopped him.

“ _Master, you’ll probably cut your hand open if you do that. That wasn’t even your favorite one and there’s plenty more at home. You know Bea loves you and wouldn’t want you to get injured from a cursola husk.”_

“B-but it’s still really crowded out. Someone besides Bea is going to see my face and I don’t want them to…”

“ _I understand Allister, but you know Bea and she would grab a spare from home since she knows how upset you get when people see your face.”_ Allister sighed and curled up and was about to rest his chin on his knees when he was surprised by the Falinks jumping in front of his face and Hawlucha using its wings to cover him.

 _“See, they’re willing to help you too. If I didn’t run the risk of accidentally killing someone with my ugliness, I would be more than happy to lend you my disguise.”_ Allister smiled and petted each of the pokemon as thanks. He jumped when he heard footsteps approach but relaxed once he realized it was just Bea.

“Alli, did they hurt you? I should have asked that first, but I probably wouldn’t have handled that with as much restraint if they had injured you.”

“N-no, they didn’t get me this time. I threw my mask and ran as soon as I heard them and hid over there until you got here. Shoulda been braver and fought them off like you would have.”

“No Alli. Using your mask to distract them was very smart. Besides, those kids were much bigger than you and you were outnumbered. There’s a fine line between courage and stupidity, and hiding was the smartest option today. Are you ready to go home?” Allister grabbed Bea’s hand but realized there was still some traffic on the path that led home.

“N-not yet.” Bea gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and led him back to where he was hiding before.

“That’s okay. We can start your homework here and I’ll stay to help. The crowds should start dispersing once it starts getting dark.” Allister sat down and snuggled up to Bea before opening his bookbag.

“Got lucky today. We just have to r-read a chapter for homework and write what it was about. We also need to give reasons why we liked it or not.” Bea held onto things as Allister dug through his bookbag. He handed Bea a folded up piece of paper while shyly smiling.

“W-we also had to write a letter to someone we look up to. Everyone else did Leon or one of the higher ranking gym leaders, b-but here’s mine. It’s a little dirty from getting dumped but I hope you like it anyway.” Allister turned his attention to his book, but still looked for Bea’s reaction out of the corner of his eye.

_Bea,_

_I look up to you because you haven’t ever given up on me. Even when I constantly wake you up in the middle of the night, refuse to eat anything, and occasionally sneak out of the house after bedtime, you don’t get mad and yell but try to help me do better. Whenever I get upset, you’re always there to help me calm down and never make me feel bad about it even though it’s usually over something stupid. You guide me on how I can get stronger like you are, but you don’t push me too far so I don’t get overwhelmed. I love you and I’m glad you’re my sister._

_Allister_

The bottom of the letter had two stick figures that Bea could recognize right away in spite of her brother’s lack of coordination when it came to drawing. Still, Bea saw how much effort he put into the drawing of her and Allister holding hands and smiled. She wiped away a few tears of gratitude and hugged Allister closer to her.

“Thank you Allister. That means a lot to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't expect people to like my writing. Thank you all for the feedback. It means a lot to me even if I don't reply


	4. First Impressions

“Bea, you remember the news last week where a Corviknight taxi wrecked in the middle of a storm a few weeks ago right?”

“Yes Mother.”

“At first Nurse Joy thought that the child, the only initial survivor, wouldn’t make it for more than a few days, but he’s conscious. If he was able to survive that, he must be strong and we are going to train him the same way we did you, and that means you should be a model of strength and discipline for him. He should be here any minute now.” Bea nodded and kicked off her school shoes at the door and sat at the table to start homework while waiting.

A knock at the door a few minutes later made Bea get to a stopping point and stood at the door with her parents to introduce herself. An agent from Marco Cosmos stood at the door and it took Bea several moments to locate the small child hiding behind the man.

_“He looks so frail… has he always been sickly or is it just from the past few days?”_

“Come here and introduce yourself. I’m Cadoc.” The demanding tone in a deep voice made the small child flinch and hide himself further.

“I’m Thana.”

“I’m Bea.” The three introductions were apparently too much for the child to handle as he started bawling.

“He won’t talk. Everyone that has been in contact with him has only heard him cry. We don’t know very much about him except for what we could salvage from the wreckage. His name is Allister, he’s four years old, and had several emotional issues that got worse with last week’s incident. His passport and the other information we could salvage are in this folder.” The agent pried Allister from his leg and set him inside the front door. Bea could see a mask covering the child’s facial features and was immediately curious to what he looked like. She reached over to lift it and was met with an ear-piercing shriek.

“The mask is what keeps him from constantly screaming and crying. We tried to get him to go a day without it, but caved when he cried to the point where he got sick. Speaking of which, you’ll probably want to know about some of the problems he has. I’ve already mentioned the fact that he doesn’t talk, strongly dislikes being touched, won’t eat anything we offer him, and getting him to go to bed is a nightmare. Good luck with him.” The agent set what little luggage Allister had inside the front door before leaving. Bea noticed that Allister had disappeared and started looking around. She peeked into the living room and saw a pair of purple eyes peeking out from under the couch, reminding her of a meowth readying itself to attack whoever walked by.

“He’s in the living room. I’m going to meditate and warm up for my training in there so he can watch and see what to do once he starts training.” Bea took a seat on the rug and intentionally slowed down her breathing before concentrating on what she wanted to accomplish with training today. She heard a scooting sound coming from behind the couch. She was also aware of the footsteps a few seconds later circling her and also felt a few pokes to her back, sides, and face. She cracked open her eyes just enough to see Allister’s mask only a few inches from her face, with him tilting his head in confusion.

Bea felt and quickly repressed a twinge of pity upon the very close look at her newly adopted brother. She could see tears still dripping from the lower edges of the mask, and took note of how pale and thin he was. Bea opened her eyes all the way and Allister jumped back before crying and deciding to find a new hiding place. Bea just shrugged and continued meditating, trying to figure out that experience and if it meant anything to her.

_Well, lets see… He didn’t exactly help me progress any further with my training, but he also didn’t do anything that set me back. He’s just a neutral presence here and doesn’t mean anything.”_

Bea stood and started stretching, noting that she had half an hour before her next challenger. She rushed the warmups and grabbed her gym bag while going back out.

“Bea, would you take him with you so he can see the basics on how to become stronger?” Bea’s mother stood in the living room with Allister hiding under a nearby chair.

“I don’t think he’s ready yet. I’ll try once he settles in.”

Weeks passed, and it was clear that Allister was still very unsettled about everything that happened to him in such a short amount of time. The amount of hiding and crying done by the child had increased, and he hadn’t eaten or slept much since he had arrived. The emotional stress of everything seemed to come crashing down on him to the point where it started to physically show.

“Allister, walk with purpose! We need to pick up ingredients for dinner if you want to eat on tonight!” The harsh words from Cadoc didn’t phase him as Allister did his best to keep up. Bea noticed that he seemed to be struggling with the basic task of walking and felt a surge of pity she wasn’t able to push back. She watched as Allister stumbled and collapsed on the rocky path before screaming in pain a few moments later.

“Don’t go to him. He is more than capable of walking it off.” Thana looked back at Allister and then to Bea. Bea looked and saw the dark contrast of crimson against pale skin and walked over anyways. Bea winced as she saw the large rock that had slashed his skin open.

“He’s injured. There’s no way he’ll be able to train if this doesn’t heal.” Bea knelt down to Allister’s level and offered him a hand to help him up, but he flinched and curled up into himself.

“Allister, I’m not going to hurt you. We need to get you to the pokemon center to get this cleaned out and check if you broke anything. I need you to try to stand up, and if you can’t, I can carry you. Come on.” Allister continued crying but slowly lifted his arms up. Bea assumed he wanted to be held and slid her arms under his, stopped when she felt him flinch.

“You do want to be carried, right? I don’t want to upset you and I can tell you didn’t like that just now.” Allister nodded and Bea placed him on her side while she ran to catch up to her parents.

“It looks pretty bad. I’m going to take him to Nurse Joy and see what can be done there.”

“Okay, but he can walk. He’s past the baby age and doesn’t need to be toted around everywhere.” Bea pretended not to hear her father as she ran to the Stow-on-Side pokemon center. Nurse Joy smiled upon their arrival but quickly waved them back after seeing the problem. Bea noticed as soon as they were taken into a patient room that Allister started trembling.

“It seems the poor dear can’t stay away from here very long. I also was the one that had to see him and his parents a few weeks ago.”

 _“Ah that explains why he’s terrified. Why didn’t I feel bad for him before hearing this from someone besides my parents? This entire situation is awful for him!”_ Allister started panicking as Nurse Joy approached with a bottle of antiseptic solution and a cloth.

“Bea, just try to keep him as still as possible.” The process was over with quickly although it upset Allister, and he even refused to look at the lollipop Nurse Joy gave him as a reward for at least tolerating the cleanup and stitches.

“Allister, don’t be rude. I know you don’t like talking, but at least look at her and nod-“

“Bea it’s fine. He has been through a lot for someone his age and doesn’t need a lecture to start getting better. I know your parents aren’t exactly known for their kindness and compassion, but that’s what Allister needs more than anything. Perhaps you could be the one that will help him and be someone he can depend upon.” Bea thanked Nurse Joy and walked out with Allister trailing behind her.

 _“Be someone he can depend upon…”_ Bea looked back at Allister, who was lagging behind again while looking directly at Bea.

“Allister, I think I need to have a talk with you. You aren’t in trouble, but I need to tell you a few things.” Bea took a seat on a crate away from most crowds and helped Allister take a seat once he was ready.

“I have no idea how to start this, so I’m going to cut to the chase. I’m sorry that I’ve either been mean or ignoring you when you’ve been upset for the past several weeks and I want to be better to you now. But I’m clueless when it comes to these things, so I’ll need you to at least give me hints on if you want or need something. I want to be a good sister as opposed to one you just have to live with.” Allister nodded and lifted his arms again, not flinching when Bea picked him up this time. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a hug and buried his mask in her neck.

“Th-th-tha….nks”


	5. Trouble in the Tangle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was requested by Ghit for what Allister's first pokemon would be. Hope you enjoy!

Bea walked up the steep hill to her home, exhausted after school, several hours of rigorous training, and a gym match. She opened the door to see her parents fuming and feuding while she could hear Allister cry from upstairs.

“What happened?”

“We’re trying to get your brother to do his training, but he refuses to listen to either of us even though he’s been here for half a year. If he doesn’t show any progress soon, we’re considering returning custody to Marco Cosmos.” Bea felt a wave of panic at the thought of losing her best buddy, but made sure she didn’t show it.

“Allister is a different person and has also been through things that I didn’t experience at his age. Let me try to get him to do it and I can adjust it for his needs.” Bea walked upstairs and followed the wailing upstairs to see her brother crying under his bed.

“Hey Alli, it’s okay. I’m home now.” Allister looked up and crawled over to Bea, clinging on as tightly as he could while screaming into her shoulder. Bea wrapped her arms around him, thankful that the action was no longer awkward for either of them. Eventually, Allister’s screaming died down to sniffles, but he didn’t move from Bea’s lap.

“Can you tell me what happened to make you so upset?”

“M-m-m-m……. I-I c-c-coud……n’t b-b-break it……….” Allister rolled up his sleeves and Bea could see that his arms were littered with various bruises from extensive training that Allister’s body couldn’t handle yet.

“Did they try to make you break boards already?”

“R-rock.” Bea was enraged at how her parents were treating Allister, but suppressed it in case Allister was frightened by her.

“Hey Alli, lets go on a walk. I’m going to tell my parents that I’m taking you out for some training, but I’m not going to make you do anything that you aren’t capable of doing yet. You can barely walk up the stairs here without having to take a breather so I’m not expecting much.” Allister nodded and continued snuggling to Bea.

“Let’s get your uniform on so it’s more convincing. I’ll be waiting by the door when you’re ready.”

+++++++++++++

“B-bea?” Bea looked down at her younger brother, who was holding onto her hand.

“What is it?”

“W-why c-can’t I g-go to school w-with you? D-don’t like bein w-without you all d-day.”

“Well Allister, you just turned five and I think you’re still a little young for high school. But you’re old enough now where you can go to school once the new year starts.” Allister nodded and hid behind Bea as they made their way to the gym, trying to avoid everyone. He started quaking once people got too close and way too loud, and was very grateful when Bea picked him up and walked away from the crowd.

“You’re getting better with other people. Usually you would run off screaming but I’m proud of you for staying with me. Was there anywhere in particular place you wanted to walk?”

“C-can we g-go to the woods? It’s r-really hot t-today…” Bea could hear her little brother panting even though he wasn’t doing anything to strain himself and nodded.

“Just stay very close to me. This place is called Glimwood Tangle. There’s a lot of Pokemon that try to trick people for fun, and then there’s others that are very aggressive. On top of all that, it’s very easy to get lost in here. But we’re just going in to take a break, and as long as you stay with me and don’t wander off, you’ll be fine.” Bea sat down in the darkness where she could still see the entrance and put Allister next to her. She dug into the bag that she brought and pulled out her water bottle and a bag of cookies.

“Here, get a snack and make sure to get some water. You’re burning up, but not sweating and that worries me.” Allister didn’t argue and started munching on the cookie, making sure to take a sip of water whenever Bea reminded him. A rustling in the bushes interrupted the peaceful moment the two siblings were having and Bea moved herself in front of Allister. Allister tried to move a certain sprig of hair out of the way but it kept pointing in the direction of the rustling.

“Show yourself.” A few whimpers came from the direction of the bush and Allister decided to crawl over, sticking his head through the underbrush.

“Mim _….Please don’t hurt me.”_ Allister looked over the ghost pokemon that was obviously in poor shape. It was barely recognizable as a mimikyu, with more holes than cloth in its disguise. It looked like very large claws had ripped through the fabric and the pokemon was doing its best to hide among the scraps.

“It’s…okay.” The pokemon took a good look at the masked lad and decided that he was a friend. Allister flinched when the pokemon jumped onto his lap and started purring, and eventually relaxed once he got used to the spooky fellow.

“U-usually only my s-sis can touch m-me without me gettin’ upset, b-but you’re okay.”

“Alli, who are you talking to in there?”

“A m-mimikyu. I th-think he’s hurt.” Allister scooted out, accidentally covering his uniform with dirt and leaves in the process before presenting the tattered pokemon to his sister. The fact that she was being handed a ghost startled Bea and she took a few steps back.

“That’s…. nice Allister. We better take it to the pokemon center since I don’t know how to take care of ghost pokemon.” Bea packed up all of the extra snacks and turned back to the entrance of the tangle, only to discover that the way out of the forest was no longer there.

“Son of a-“ Bea stopped herself before she let the actual swear word fly and sighed instead. This really was not an ideal situation for her as her pokemon were weak to most pokemon that resided in the tangle, not to mention she had to lead her anxiety prone brother out of the tangle without attracting any of the pokemon who fed themselves on negative emotions.

“W-why is the l-light g-gg-gone?”

 _Ah crap, he noticed._ “It’s okay Alli. Sometimes stuff moves around in the tangle. If we stay on the path then we can find a way out.” A few whimpers indicated that her words fell upon deaf ears as Allister started to cry.

“W-we’re gonna g-get eaten! I d-don’t wanna d-die again!”

“We won’t die if we stay cal- what do you mean again?” She reached out to try to pick up her brother to calm him down, but was met with several feeble slaps that clearly meant he didn’t want to be touched right now.

“Allister, can you try to breathe with me?” After a few minutes of breathing exercises, Allister had gone from screaming to sniffling and stood close to Bea with Mimikyu weaving through Bea’s legs.

“W-wanna…. g-go… h-home.”

“Me too. Lets get started.” It seemed like hours had passed as Bea and Allister wandered along the path, with the scenery changing every time Bea walked what she swore was the same road.

“Th-that big m-mushroom wasn’t th-there before.” Bea looked down at her younger brother, who was holding a shadowy claw of his pokemon with one hand and hanging onto Bea for dear life with the other one.

“I know. Bu I’m not sure why this is happening. The path usually stays the same no matter what, so I’m not sure what pokemon is messing with it.” Bea turned her attention to the Mimikyu, who was staring at one particular bush with beady eyes. The disguised pokemon started growling and letting some ghostly energy seep out from beneath its cloth as a threat. A deafening roar startled the trio as a large green and black pokemon leapt out, eyeing the group while letting out a menacing laugh.

“Allister, grab your Mimikyu. I’m going to get you and we are going to make a run for it.” A pair of shaky arms wrapped itself around the bundle of cloth and Bea hoisted up her brother. Bea could tell her brother was on the verge of another bad panic attack, which gave her the motivation to move faster. Unfortunately, the path ended in front of a thicket that Bea knew she wouldn’t be able to go through. She grabbed at her belt for a pokeball as a last ditch effort, and her stomach sank as she realized that she left her team at home to rest. She closed her eyes and held Allister as closely as she could as she awaited the inevitable….

“Mim mim! _For my new family and for ruining my disguise earlier!_ ” The pokemon bravely leapt above the two humans and Bea looked at the tattered cloth seemed to expand, covering the grimsnarl completely. The much larger pokemon started letting out whimpers and the mimikyu eventually let it go. It casually wandered back to the terrified duo and purred as it rubbed against Bea’s leg.

“Thank you. That would have ended badly if you hadn’t shown up. My parents will probably pitch a huge fit about it, but you’re welcome to come live with us. Would you like that Allister? Alli?” Bea noticed Allister hadn’t moved since they reached the dead end and she quickly checked for a pulse. He finally started trembling after some time had passed and whimpered.

“Mimi. Mimimimim. _It’s okay young master. I have eliminated the threat and your sister has invited me to stay with you. Do I have your permission?”_ Allister shakily nodded and welcomed the pokemon into his trembling arms.

“B-b-bea?” Bea looked at her brother and nodded for him to continue. “F-f-fabric for him?”

“Sure. We can stop by the market on our way home. I can see the light of day where it should have been when this mess first started, so let’s get out of here before anything else bad happens today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be that last chapter I have a chance to upload for awhile. One of my relatives broke a hip and an arm, so I will be a live in home aide for who knows how long. I'll still accept ideas for chapters, they might just not be published for a couple months.


	6. Allister and the Awful Day

“AND THE VICTORY FOR THIS MATCH GOES TO THE CHALLENGER!” The challenger with pink hair and a dustox bow gloated and was showing off to the audience, although very few people were cheering. The loud voice caused Stow on Side’s younger gym leader to flinch and he felt a pang in his chest. The loss, on top of several bad things that had happened at school earlier that day, was simply too much for him to handle.

“G-g-good j-job. B-b-badge… _But not really. That was unfair. What decent person does what you just did? No good trainer would poison every pokemon that can get the status, and then spam revives until they win. If you aren’t a good trainer, where do you even get the money for that many revives?”_ Allister begrudgingly handed over a badge and shook the challengers hand even though he was on the verge of tears.

“It’s honestly a shame you were so easy to beat. Maybe I could replace you as a gym leader one day!” With that, Allister snatched back his hand and ran for the privacy of his locker room, vaguely aware of Bea telling him she would take care of this and that she would be back soon. He quickly grabbed his bookbag and started running from the gym, trying to get away from the press before they could push him into a losing interview that he really didn’t need at the moment.

“ _Should I go home and wait for Bea? All I want to do is just cry to her about how Arceus-awful today has been. Then again, she still might be awhile at the gym dealing with that mean challenger, and I still can’t shake the feeling that I’m just a drain on her enjoyment of life… I think I’ll just stay out for a little while… maybe Bea will at least check if I’m okay…”_ Guilt immediately ripped through him as he doubted his sister’s promise that she always would care about him no matter what, but he still decided it would be best to stay out of the house for a few hours. “ _I need some me time, and I didn’t get that between the gym and school today… Bea will understand… hopefully…”_

The tears in his eyes made it difficult to see where he was going and he continued running, and only stopping when he was completely out of breath. The sound of mimikyu emerging from its pokeball helped Allister calm down a little as his breathing slowed down. He gratefully took the masked pokemon into his arms and hugged it as hard as he could.

“Th-thanks Mimikyu. S-sorry out m-match turned out to b-be a total load of c-crap…”

“ _You’re quite welcome master, and don’t worry about that. Is there any particular reason you came to Hammerlocke instead of the tangle or one of your favorite graveyards?”_

“H-how did we g-get here so fast?” Allister quickly stole a look at his phone. “It’s o-only been t-ten minutes since I st-started running…”

 _“It’s possible that you have other supernatural abilities since you can communicate so well with ghosts and ghost pokemon, but you may not have control over them yet since you’re still so young.”_ Allister nodded and started walking into the city, making sure that he was taking back alleys to avoid all of the people on the main streets. A quick encounter with a shady man in a trenchcoat trying to sell masterballs made Allister bolt back out onto the street, where he ended up in front of Hammerlocke’s vault.

“ _Want to go up and just look at the sky master? That’s usually what you do around this time of day.”_

“Y-yeah. Can you g-go up and check for p-people first?” Mimikyu nodded and started rising, settling itself in a crenel of the wall before letting out a raspy squeak to confirm that the place was deserted. Two large shadowy claws grabbed Allister and started lifting him into the air, which caused many people in the streets to start running and screaming. Allister let out a small laugh before taking a seat and watching the sunset, the purple and orange hues bouncing off of the large gray clouds to make a beautiful sky. “ _Just like me and Bea working together to make a really strong gym. I should at least text her to let her know I’m okay.”_

The rotom phone screen refused to light up no matter how many times he pressed the power or home buttons, and Allister started breathing quickly. _“I can’t call Bea or a taxi to get back home, it’s too dark for me to go out and try to get through route six, Bea doesn’t know where I am and can’t find me, I can’t get another gym leader to help me, I-”_ A shadowy finger covered in spectral matter was inserted into his ear and briefly distracted Allister from his anxiety.

“Ew, that felt w-weird mimikyu! W-we still n-need to think about how we’re gonna g-get home. B-but I’ll b-be calm this time. I p-promise.” A huge boom of thunder made Allister jump and he noticed lightening arc from the clouds in the sky. He ran into the tapestry room of the vault as it started pouring outside, thanking his lucky stars that the contents of his bookbag weren’t even damp. Another boom of thunder shook the walls and Allister could feel tears running down his face.

“A-at least it’s not d-dark…” A nearby lightening strike decided to spite him as it caused the lights to flicker before going completely off.

“M-mimikyu?”

“ _I’m right here master. Cry if you need to. I’m sure someone will be here soon.”_ Nearly an hour had passed before the massive doors to the vault started creaking open. Allister scooted even closer to the wall where he was and shook as the figure walked in. The beam of light from the intruders phone shone on Allister and caused them to start screaming, which made the frightened child scream as well.

“Who are- Allister? What are you doing here?” Raihan’s voice softened upon realizing that it was not a thief or vandal in the vault, but a very frightened fellow gym leader. He sat down on the floor to make himself less intimidating and felt awful once he started crying.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Can you tell me what’s wrong or would you like me to call Bea?”

“C-c-can I b-borrow……. Y-your…” Allister wasn’t able to finish his sentence and Raihan nodded before handing over his phone.

“Of course you can. I’m going to pick up some dinner since you’ve had a long day so I’ll ask Bea if she wants anything once you’re finished. Take your time though.” Raihan handed over the shiny edition of his rotom phone and scrolled down to Bea’s contact before typing out a message.

_Bea I’m really sorry. I got upset and wanted some alone time. I’m in Hammerlocke and I don’t know how I got here but Raihan found me and let me borrow his phone. Please come get me I want to go home_

“Th-thank you.”

+++++++++++++

After enjoying a meal of french fries, Allister was tired and snuggled up next to Bea in the corviknight taxi while clutching the Giratina toy that came from the happiny meal that Raihan had bought for him. Bea hugged Allister even closer to her during the flight, not wanting him to leave her sight now that she had finally located him.

“Bea?”

“Yes Alli?”

“C-can we t-talk when we g-get home? Th-that gym match wasn’t the only b-bad thing that happened today.”

“Of course we can. Speaking of which, that challenger cheated and didn’t complete the challenge before your match with her, so she got her badge revoked and has to fight me tomorrow.” Allister just nodded and leaned against Bea until the taxi landed.

“C’mon Alli, lets go home. Alli?” Bea could hear his breathing was deep and relaxed for once, indicating that he was resting. She paid the driver and then took Allister into her arms and started walking through town to get back home. She stared at disdain at her parents house for a few moments before Allister started moving around a bit. She quickly continued walking and made her way to the outskirts of town to where their cozy house was. Carefully balancing her brother in one arm, she unlocked the door and walked over to the couch to lay him down.

“Sis?” Allister took of his mask and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.

“Hey Alli. We can still talk, but do you want to clean up and put on some pajamas on first? That way if you feel like going to bed afterwards you can avoid the hassle.” Allister nodded and made his way up the stairs on all fours, before riding down the stairs in a laundry basket after a few minutes. Bea was glad that she kept extra blankets and pillows in another basket downstairs as her brother crashed facefirst into the soft pile.

“Careful Alli, we can’t have you getting hurt. What did you want to talk about from today?” Bea brought Allister a glass of chocolate milk, a treat reserved for the worst of his days.

“It was just really b-bad all day. I thought it would be better after I woke up from that awful dream, b-but it just kept getting worse. You know how it started with me waking up so upset I g-got sick, and then when I got to school, I tripped over my shoelace in f-front of everyone. Then d-during break, I got p-pushed into a mud puddle and had to use the school sh-showers and those are gross. I also had to wear an entire outfit that wasn’t mine, which feels even w-worse since it was t-too big and I k-kept getting teased for it. Then I did really bad on my test and y-you need to sign that I c-can take it again. And th-then the usual after school b-bullying happened on my way to the g-gym and you know what happened from there.” The calm delivery of the bad news was more shocking to Bea than what Allister had gone through, and she opened up her arms to invite him into a hug. He gladly accepted it and that’s when he completely lost it, sobbing to his sister about why he was so upset.

“Alli, are you okay to listen for a minute or do you need a little bit of time to calm down.”

“I c-c-can listen.” Allister said between sobs and hiccups.

“I’ve noticed your grades slipping a lot since you became a gym leader, and I’ve been discussing something with Rose. How would you like it if a teacher came here to teach you instead of you going to public school? You would be able to work at a pace that’s better for you and you would have more gym matches if you feel like taking on a little more responsibility for the gym. The only thing I’m worried about is the practice you get from interacting with other people, since you’ve been doing better at telling people when they’re going too far with things instead of running and hiding.” Allister sighed and ran his fingers around the edges of his mask.

“Bea, everyone at school d-dislikes me so it’s an easy choice. I want to learn here instead. P-plus Melony told me th-that she wanted to take me with her family to do normal k-kid stuff, whatever that is. And M-milo told me that he had a b-brother a little older than m-me, and M-marnie and H-hop will sometimes talk to me after m-meetings. It’s a lot b-better for me since they’re actually n-nice.” Bea ruffled Allister’s hair, still soggy from the shower.

“Then that settles that. I’ll go to the school tomorrow and let them know what we are choosing for you, and then contact Rose so he can find someone that you’ll get along with and learn from.”

“I g-get a day off tomorrow?!”

“Yes. You can stay up as late as you want to, but don’t go outside or make a lot of noise so I can rest for my matches tomorrow, okay?”

“Th-that’s okay. I’m really t-tired anyways and you’re comfy, s-so I’m just going to stay here.” Allister clung to Bea and pretended to be asleep as Bea carried him upstairs. He was gently tossed onto his bed like a sack of potatoes and then softly whacked with a pillow.

“Better get to bed then so you can have a good day tomorrow. I love you Allister.” Bea gave her brother another hug before rearranging his bed to where the blankets would actually cover him.

“C-can you stay here until I go to sleep? And I love you too.”

“Sure Alli, I always do. I hope you sleep well.” Bea took Allister’s hand into hers, and didn’t let go of it until long after both parties went to sleep, allowing a bad day to come to a close together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for your support for this story! I never thought I would have this many views or kudos and I appreciate everyone who has given this a read.
> 
> I hopefully will be able to post more content soon. I am busy with my new job, but have had much more motivation to write in my downtime. I have about 27 rough drafts in progress, but publishing will depend if my brain decides to focus on one or multiple chapters at once.


	7. Moving Out and Moving On

“Okay Allister, this is a meeting I have to attend. If you want to stay close to me, you have to be still and quiet and do something like look through a book. Do you think you could do that?” Despite Bea’s calm exterior, she was rushing and nervous about being late for a monthly gym leader meeting. Allister nodded and Bea felt a little less nervous while sprinting through Wyndon to get to Rose Tower, which was significantly more challenging while toting around a small child.

She made it to the upper floors in the nick of time, all of the gym leaders turning to stare at her. Whether it was due to the fact that she had always been early and it was not the case this time, or due to her masked brother, she got several strange looks.

“Excuse me Bea, but you’ll have to leave the child with the daycare staff on the lower floors. They’re too distracting and disruptive to meetings.” Allister clung on tightly to Bea and started shaking.

“With all due respect Rose, I have to keep him with me. I can explain afterwards and will take him to a different room if it is needed.” With that, Bea sat down between Melony and Milo and finally allowed herself to relax after a busy morning. The soft breathing from her brother confirmed that the meeting had already bored him to sleep. A few hours later, the meeting was over and most of the gym leaders had left the premises. Bea was getting ready to when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Excuse me Bea, but you look exhausted and I know you wouldn’t bring a child with you unless you didn’t have any other options. Would you care to talk about it?” Bea looked at Melony and thought for a minute. Her parents had drilled in her that most problems could be solved by ones self, but raising a child without any help was something she couldn’t figure out on her own. She took a seat beside Melony and allowed the mother of the league to place her arm around Bea’s shoulders.

“Can you promise not to tell anyone else? I don’t want word of what happened.”

“Of course.” Bea looked between her brother and Melony before sighing.

“I had a really bad argument with my parents awhile ago and it ended with me taking Allister and leaving. He’s my younger brother here.” Allister stirred slightly and hid his face behind Bea once he realized he was in the presence of someone besides his sister.

“Hi sweetheart, it’s nice to meet you.” Allister let out a whimper as Bea gently ruffled his hair.

“Sorry. He’s still not great at socializing yet, but he’s doing so much better lately.”

“That’s okay Bea, but back to you. How badly did that argument end to result in you leaving?”

“Well…”

_ 2 Weeks Earlier _

“Mother, Father, I need to have a talk with you.” Bea took a seat at the kitchen table with a written out list of issues she had with the way her younger brother was being treated by her parents. Bea had made sure he was happily playing with his Mimikyu and Sinistea in the yard and had asked him to stay out until she came to get him in order to avoid upsetting him.

“Likewise. We have some concerns about your brother to discuss. When we adopted him, we were expecting a boy that would be eager to train and raise himself into a strong young man so you would have someone to train with as an equal. As you can tell, that just isn’t working out and we would like to return custody to Hammerlocke’s orphanage and try again with a different child.” Bea felt her stomach drop as her father spoke, feeling a combination of anxiety and anger, but made sure it didn’t show externally.

“You can’t do that. He’s another human being. You shouldn’t return him like he’s clothing that didn’t fit quite right.”

“Yes, but his lack of strength makes our family look weak. Allister hasn’t shown any progress with training and he is leagues behind where you were at his age. Not to mention some of his other issues, like still refusing to speak and using tears to get his way.”

“Well allow me to speak about the way you treat him now. The very disciplined way you raised me was fine because I didn’t suffer anything traumatic from a young age, and I am very thankful that you gave me the stepping stones to become a successful gym leader. However, you can’t just push all of Allister’s differences aside, treat him the exact same way you treated me, and expect positive results. I got his medical records from Nurse Joy and found out several things. He already had an anxiety disorder before he lost his parents, and it got much worse afterwards.”

“That should be something Allister should focus on overcoming then.” Bea’s mother interrupted.

“While I agree, it has to be done very slowly. While our battles tend to lean in the direction of overcoming opponents in order to be the strongest person around, Allister’s battles focus on processing everything that has happened to him without crying so hard he passes out. Something as simple as a conversation saps more strength out of him than you could imagine, but he has been trying so hard. You just can’t see that progress because it isn’t the kind of progress you’re looking for.”

“I agree that Allister has gone through a lot, it has been almost a year. He needs to get over it. Your father and I both lost our parents years ago.”

“Allister is only five and lost his parents at four. You were both adults when you lost your parents.”

“That shouldn’t be a reason for him to slack. You were already outcompeting much older children at his age. Another issue we have is how much you spoil him. Allister needs to learn that crying will only make him look weak and he needs to suppress how he feels in order to become stronger. If he isn’t willing to put in effort, then we aren’t willing to raise him.”

“Mother, I think you’re missing my point. I feel like he needs his emotional issues treated before you physically train him.”

“Well Beatrice, if you don’t like the way we’re raising your brother, why don’t you just take him and do it yourself?”

“Maybe I will.” Bea calmly arose from the table and only let the frustration and sadness show on her face once she turned away from her parents. Once in her room, she grabbed a duffel bag and crammed as many of her and her brother’s belonging that could fit.

_ Present  _

“Bea, I had no idea your parents would try to do that. I know you’re usually hesitant about accepting help, but can I bring you and Allister dinner a few times a week? I always have extra every time I cook. I’ll just need to know where you’re staying now.” Averting her eyes, Bea nodded.

“Just meet me at the gym please.”

+++++++++++++

Melony checked her rotom phone, noting that Bea was twenty minutes late, although she understood why after their talk earlier that week. She turned once she heard the gym doors slide open and took in the sight of a disheveled Bea with Allister trailing closely behind her.

“Sorry about being late. Its been a rough day.”

“I understand Bea. Can I walk this home for you?”

“…Just follow me.” A bit confused, Melony followed Bea into the gym locker room that also doubled as living quarters based on the mini fridge, microwave, and makeshift bed made from training mats and blankets.

“Bea, I would offer to let you live with me, but I don’t think that would work being so far away from your gym. Is there anything I can do to help out?” Bea shook her head.

“Dinner is plenty. Thank you.” Melony nodded and took her leave, devising a plan. She passed by a house for she saw for sale on her way to the gym and took a peek through the windows. The inside could use a few repairs and a fresh coat of paint, but it wasn’t anything that some hard work couldn’t fix. She grabbed her rotom phone and texted all of the gym leaders except for Bea.

_Meet me at Stow-on-Side when you get a chance. We need to get a few projects done._

++++++++++++

“Melony, you don’t have to keep bringing us dinner. We’re doing a lot better now that we’ve lived here for several weeks.” Bea still gratefully accepted the food, but couldn’t help but feel she was taking advantage of Melony’s kindness.

“I know, but I enjoy doing it. And look how well Allister is doing with me other people now compared to when we first met.” Melony smiled as Allister brought her a page he had colored and attached several stickers to. “Thank you Allister. It looks wonderful.” Melony turned back to Bea. “Would you two like to join me on a walk this evening?”

“Let me make sure Kabu hasn’t sent any challengers this way, and if I’m free that sounds like a great idea.” Bea checked her phone as Allister grabbed his pokemon to join them.

“Okay I’m ready.” The trio silently walked, the siblings silently enjoying the evening air while Melony could barely contain her excitement. The recently bought and repaired house soon came into view and Melony could see some of the other gym leaders hard at work.

“Why are we here? I don’t think the new owners of the house would like us trespassing.”

“You’ll understand in a few moments.” Melony opened the door and Bea was surprised to see all of the gym leaders doing various chores: Milo and Gordie working on moving furniture in, Nessa and Opal working together to decorate, Kabu and Piers painting the living room, and Raihan dusting anything that was out of an average persons reach.

“Here Bea. Take a look around the place and see if you like it.” Melony handed over the keys while trying to convince Allister to come inside and Bea still looked very confused.

“We all know that you don’t like asking for help, but this is something you needed. Before you can start arguing, you don’t owe us a thing. This group of gym leaders are basically family, and helping each other out is what family should do.” Bea stood with her mouth still dropped open in shock as she tried to process the huge act of kindness that had been done for her.

“I don’t know what to say… Thank you…” Bea tried to remain stoic, but couldn’t prevent the tears that ran down her face.

“You’re welcome Bea. We will always be here for you if you need anything.”


	8. Untitled Cramorant Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is a lovely day in Galar, and the Gym Leaders are harassed by a horrible cramorant.

“What on earth happened here!? I know this place sometimes looks a little sloppy with ten of us, Leon, and the challengers getting ready, but this is ridiculous!” The gym leaders stared at the wreckage; all of the lockers looked like they had been pried open and their contents spread across the floor, the exercise equipment was scattered everywhere, and several motivational posters starring Leon had been torn off of the walls.

“Do you think someone broke in here?” Upon hearing Melony ponder that possibility, Allister made a beeline for his sister and hid behind Bea.

“I don’t think so, Leon made sure to hire extra security after the incident with some creepy fans last year. We need to stay levelheaded and clean up this mess.” Kabu got to work straitening up the locker room, and the rest of the gym leaders followed.

“Has anyone seen my extra headband? It’s not in the general area with the rest of my stuff.” Bea sifted through her things and was helping Allister with the mess of his things.

“M-my thirty s-seventh favorite m-mask is gone too…”

“Don’t worry my dears, I’ll keep an eye out for those. Let me know if you see a locket with a picture of all of my kids inside.” After clearing the disaster, it was clear that most of the gym leaders were missing something.

“Somehow I got lucky, I’m the only one who didn’t have anything stolen.” Raihan smiled and stretched his arms up, when he was suddenly aware of his phone leaving his hand. He looked up and saw it disappear into the ventilation and his jaw dropped. He immediately started taking off the cover and tried to lift himself into the ceiling.

“Raihan, is it really worth-“

“Yes Milo, it is! I spent years tracking down a shiny rotom to have for my phone!” Raihan struggled to fit through the small gap and sighed before looking at the youngest member of the gym league with a mischievous grin on his face.

“Allister, do you want to go on an adventure?” Allister nodded his head but was quickly scooped up by Bea and placed on her side.

“No, Allister isn’t going up there. He could get lost or hurt really easily.”

“I c-can just take a look. G-gotta work on being braver like you.”

“Okay, but don’t crawl into the ventilation. Just let Raihan lift you up and tell us if you see anything.” Bea reluctantly let Allister down and watched as he walked over, noticing the flinch as Raihan lifted him.

“Can you see anything or is it too dark?” Allister tensed up as he heard something approach him.

“T-there’s a p-pokemon up here… m-maybe it’s sc-scared or hurt… hey, give me back my mask YOU STUPID BIRD!” Raihan started pulling Allister down and everyone witnessed seeing a maskless Allister fighting a cramorant for his most prized possession. They turned away or shut their eyes out of respect for the boy’s privacy until they heard the pokemon fly off while honking.

“Alli, are you okay?”

“My m-mask…. It’s g-g-gone….” Bea opened her arms and let her younger brother bury his face in her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t cry. Your favorite mask is still at home and we can go back there now if you don’t want to watch Leon’s match today.”

“Sorry kiddo, that was all my fault. You can borrow my jacket if it would help you feel less anxious.” Allister nodded and put the hoodie on, making sure that the majority of his face was hidden by pulling the hood strings as tightly as they would go. Gordie started laughing and Bea shot him a dirty look.

“Relax, I’m not laughing at anyone but Raihan. That cramorant decided to start a livestream on his Instagram.” Several of the other gym leaders opened their phones and started laughing as the thieving bird pokemon took them on a digital journey.

“As much as I would like to keep watching this, we could be using the hints from the scenery to track the cramorant and see if we can find our missing things. We should also split into groups so if it escapes, we can eventually track it down. Who wants to go with who?” Nessa took a seat on the bench and tried to keep her hair out of her eyes, a difficult feat thanks to her stolen hair tie.

“I’m too old to go on this adventure, so I can stay here and let you know if that irritating creature comes back.” Opal took a seat on a bench and stretched out after her match. Nessa nodded and looked at the youngest of the gym leaders.

“Allister, since you know who you’re most comfortable with, you can pick your search group first.”

“I w-want my s-sis and M-melony.”

“Alright. Does anyone else know who they want to go with?”

“Can we do the usual trio of myself, you, and Milo?”

“Sounds good. Piers, can you tolerate Raihan and Gordie’s shenanigans?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Great. Let’s get going!”

+++++++++++

Melony and Bea looked back at Allister, who was lagging behind as he tried to watch where he was going while trying to cover his face with Raihan’s borrowed hoodie at the same time. He occasionally stopped and looked at either the chaos left by the unruly cramorant or inside of store windows.

“Alli, do you want to hang onto me so it’s easier for you to keep up? You look like you’re having trouble.”

“Yes p-please.” Bea backtracked to her brother and he took one hand while still using his arm and the hood to hide what he could of his face. “I w-want my mask back soon. This m-makes it hard to see where I’m going.” As if on cue, Allister stumbled over something but caught his balance.

“M-melony? Is this G-gordie’s necklace?” Alister held up a beautiful sapphire necklace and Melony’s face lit up.

“It is dear! Thank you!”

“It was nothin’…” Allister couldn’t help but beam at the praise anyways as they continued walking along the streets, making sure to check every nook and cranny. Nessa’s hair bauble was hidden beneath a pile of glass mugs, which only raised more questions for the group.

“Alli, freeze where you are right now. The cramorant is right behind you.” Against his sister’s orders, he quickly turned around and held onto the annoying creature. Its wings started flapping around and soon Allister was being dragged around the streets of Wyndon.

“Sis! Help!” Allister felt the ground disappear beneath him and started screaming.

“Let go Allister, You’re only a few feet from the ground. One of us will catch you!” A peck to the hand made that choice for him as he plummeted a few feet to the ground, luckily gently landing in Melony’s arms.

“I d-don’t think I like b-bird pokemon anymore…”

“I can’t say I blame you sweetheart. I see everyone else is meeting at the statue in front of the train station, so you can hide your face in my shoulder if you’d like.” Allister nodded and did just that, hoping that the crowds wouldn’t be drawn to a gathering of all they gym leaders. After talking and trading a bit, everything except Raihan’s phone had been found.

“Here master of ghosts, Piers found your mask on top of the phone booth on the other side of town.” Gordie knelt down to Allister’s height and handed the gym leader his most prized possession,

“Th-thank you Mr. Gordie!” With the mask securely back on his face, Allister handed the warm jacket back to Raihan.

“Thanks squirt. Does anybody know where the cramorant is now? I’m having social media withdrawals.”

“Raihan, are you kidding us? It’s only been two hours since your phone was taken!” Piers rolled his eyes at Raihan’s complaints while stretching out on a nearby bench.

“I s-saw it a few m-minutes ago. T-tried to c-carry me off.”

“Do you remember where it went? I think my phone died and the livestream stopped, so we don’t have anything else to go on.”

“The p-park I think.”

“Alright. Thanks kiddo.” A crash caused the entire group to look at the cramorant repeatedly dropping a rather large rock on a red rotom phone.

“Help roto! I’m dying Raihan!” After a look from duraludon, the bird pokemon fled and Raihan picked up the shattered but still useable phone.

“Rotom, thank Zacian you’re okay! I’ll get you charged and repaired soon little buddy.” A honk interrupted the reunion and the group saw several cramorants coming out of hiding and slowly approaching, all bearing various things they had stolen from unsuspecting people.

“Should we make a run for it?” Milo warily watched the beady eyed creatures slowly approach the group.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Honk!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was initially going to be much longer with focuses on each group, but my portrayals of each gym leader seemed off when proofreading. I might give this an overhaul in the future but I hope everyone who has gotten this far enjoys it.


	9. First Errand

“Bea, I have a request to ask of you.” Turning around from the cupboards to put away the dishes, Bea looked at her brother standing maskless by the dining room table, fists clenched in determination while his facial expression showed nervousness.

“Go ahead Alli, but try to calm down and breathe a bit first. Your expression makes it look like you’ve been bitten by a Mudsdale.”

“Th-that’s not funny sis!” Allister cracked a nervous smile and laughed a bit before composing himself, taking a deep breath while stretching the hem of his shirt.

“Give me something, anything, that I can help you out with. I’m tired of feeling useless around our house, and I know I’m old enough now where I need to start learning how to do more chores other than putting my clothes in the hamper and putting my toys away.” Bea was surprised at the insistence and lack of stuttering in her younger brother’s voice.

“So you’re asking me to do you a favor by doing me favors?”

“It sounds weird when you p-put it that way, but yeah…” Her brother’s head dropped to the floor and Bea walked over to him, kneeling down to his height and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I know what you meant Alli, I just couldn’t resist teasing you just a little bit. I won’t do it anymore since I can tell you’re very serious about this. Unfortunately, you’re about ten minutes too late to help inside the house, but I need to pick up some groceries sometime this afternoon so we can have something to eat for dinner tonight. Do you think you can go to the grocery store for me?” A nod after a few minutes of hesitation came from Allister.

“I’m not very c-confident about it, b-but the only way I’ll g-get better at it is if I k-keep trying.” Bea smiled and ruffled his hair before grabbing her wallet off of the counter.

“Alright, the list is already on the table and I’m giving you 10,000 pokedollars. Just so stuff doesn’t fall out of your pockets, I would grab your stuffed gengar backpack to keep everything in. You can get yourself something special as a prize for being brave if you want to… Are you sure you want to go by yourself?” Allister nodded as he put the list and money into his backpack.

“I’m m-mostly sure sis. The whole point of me doing this is that you g-get a break. You d-do everything when it c-comes to the paperwork of running the g-gym and you do almost everything at home too, and that’s n-not easy since m-me and my pokemon forget to clean up after ourselves.”

“Okay, if you insist. You can call me if you need help with anything, and I’ll be down there in an hour and a half if you’re not back by then. Make sure you don’t talk to strangers and don’t wander off with anyone you don’t know. Deal?”

“D-deal. That last p-part was kind of unnecessary though. I b-barely talk to anyone except you and I usually r-run and hide when other people try to get near me.” After a quick hug and a few words of encouragement from Bea, Allister raced out the door and ran along with the downhill slope as quickly as he could.

“ _Master, I would recommend that you pace yourself and slow down. Remember that you need to have the energy to walk around for awhile and then you have to make that trek uphill with groceries.”_ Panting, Allister stopped and made sure to take a breather before entering the sliding doors.

“I’m still really n-nervous, but I’m glad Bea is finally letting me do some stuff. I d-don’t think she ever gets the ch-chance to relax unless it’s n-nighttime and she has to f-force herself to do that, but then I wake her up with my screaming and crying m-most nights. She deserves m-more rest than she gets.” After a bit of a struggle finding a cart without any broken wheels, Allister started his errand. He looked between the cart and mimikyu that loyally followed him around and smirked beneath his mask. Carefully picking up the disguised pokemon in order to not expose it, he lifted it into the seat made for small children and strapped it in.

“ _Excellent idea young master. This is a perfect vantage point where I can warn you if you’re about to bump into something or if someone is about to run into you, I’ll give a warning hiss.”_

“Thanks Mims. I’m f-finally getting a little taller, b-but it’s still hard to see where I’m g-going with this thing. At least I d-don’t have to stretch or tiptoe to steer nowadays.” Taking a peek at the list, he made his way over to the produce isle to grab some assorted fruits and vegetables.

“ _Lets see… Sis loves sweet stuff so I’ll get her some pechas, magos, nanabs, and qualot berries. I only like sitrus, cornn, and oran berries, so that’s all for fruit… Oh wow! I wonder why sis never told me there was a vegetable called a ghost pepper?”_ Allister grabbed a separate produce bag and put a single pepper inside. “ _Best not to be wasteful in case of the very likely possibility that I’ll dislike it. I wish I wasn’t so picky all the time…”_ A click from one of his pokeballs snapped Allister back into reality and Gengar popped out before wedging itself into the larger compartment of the shopping cart.

“Hi Gengar. You can stay out of your b-ball as long as you promise to not mess with other p-people.”

 _“Okay I’ll try. I just got bored in there. I would rather be bored out in the open.”_ As Allister walked through the aisles, he became very aware and self-conscious of people snapping pictures of the comical sight of a small child pushing around his pokemon, and also heard people gush about how cute it was. Regardless of the fact that they meant no harm, Allister knew he needed a few minutes alone.

“Gengar, Mimikyu, I g-gotta take a quick b-break from being s-seen. Guard the g-groceries while I’m in the b-bathroom.” Mimikyu nodded and made itself look bigger to appear more menacing while diligently keeping a lookout, while gengar kept eyeing the candy isle nearby. As soon as their trainer disappeared behind a door and could no longer witness the mischief, Gengar struggled to dislodge himself from the cart and floated over to a marshmallow display.

“ _Gengar, get your butt back over here! You know master will be upset and embarrassed if you make trouble in the store for him!”_ Gengar waved off the disguised pokemon that was squeaking up a storm, only focused on the sugary treat before him. So focused that the pokemon didn’t notice the store security guard sigh and escort him to the store’s office.

“ _I cannot believe that purple idiot…”_ Mimikyu thought as it facepalmed with a shadowy hand.

“ _Would the owner of the gengar that enjoys gorging itself on marshmallows please come to the front and reclaim your pokemon?”_ The crackle of the intercom startled Allister, who was currently applying a damp paper towel to his face. He groaned once he processed what the announcement was saying and walked out to mimikyu, hoping that it wouldn’t be his gengar in trouble.

“You g-gotta be kidding me…”

_“I apologize master. I should have tried harder to stop him.”_

“It’s n-not your fault m-mimikyu… let’s just finish and s-save the embarrassment of g-getting him once we c-can get out later…” Allister quickly found a jar of peanut butter, the last thing on his list, and a bag of gummy wrumples as a treat for himself, although he would share with Bea if she asked. Shakily walking to the front, Allister tried to calm himself for facing the consequences of allowing his naughtiest team member to stay out of the pokeball.

“M-mister security guard?”

“Hey there little fella! Did you get separated from your parents?”

“N-no sir… Th-that’s mine…” Allister’s voice gave out on him as he pointed to the ghost pokemon pouting in the office window. The security guard did a double take before escorting the grumbling gengar out of the office.

_“People these days… Can’t eat whatever I want… Can’t phase through walls and scare them… Can’t get by with making things float out of their reach…”_

“D-do you w-want me to p-pay for-“

“You don’t have to. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but go ahead and take the bag with you since it’s open. I’ll explain to the cashier first since I can tell you’re nervous and upset. Just try to keep a better eye on your pokemon from now on.” The officer escorted him to a register and ruffled his hair, something Allister only tolerated from Bea, before walking away. Allister nervously looked everywhere but at the cashier, wondering if he was actually in very big trouble.

“ _Master, may I have a lollipop for being an agreeable lad today?”_ Allister nodded and let mimikyu pick one out to put on the counter.

“ _Master, I want-“_

“N-no. You d-didn’t listen to m-me earlier.” Allister nodded a thanks to the cashier before releasing his larger and more responsible team members to help carry bags and pick out a treat if they desired one. He bolted as soon as all of the bags and change were accounted for and started the journey uphill. A figure in the distance slowly approached him and he smiled once he recognized her.

“Hi sis.” Bea nodded and took a few bags from her brother as he was clearly struggling to make it uphill.

“Thank you for doing that Allister. Did you have enough money to get everything we needed?”

“Yeah.” Bea could tell Allister was slightly upset about something and didn’t pry until they were at the front door.

“Did something go wrong while you were in the store?” Allister nodded as Bea held the door open for him.

“Gengar stole and ate a b-bunch of marshmallows… I think I m-might be in trouble… I d-don’t want to go to jail…” Allister started trembling near the kitchen table while Bea tried to unpack groceries and calm him down at the same time.

“Did someone talk to you about it at the store?”

“They s-said not to worry about it even though I offered to p-pay, b-but my st-stomach j-just feels w-wrong and b-bad like I’m going to g-get sick…”

“Alli, if they told you not to worry about it, then you aren’t in trouble. Just don’t take gengar next time and you’ll be fine. I can’t really help you with the anxious stomach aspect, but I promise that they aren’t going to change your minds. It probably gave the employees a good laugh and everyone will forget about it in a few weeks. Why don’t you get Chandelure and we can toast what’s left of these over the flames once you feel better?”

“Okay… Sis?”

“Yes Alli?”

“C-can I just help you around the house from now on? I d-don’t think I’m ready to d-do stuff like that yet…”

“I think you did an excellent job, but sure. Anything for you Alli. You can start by helping me unpack these if you’d like.”

++++++++++

“Allister?”

“Yes Bea?”

“Do you want me to teach you how to toast instead of burn things? Your marshmallows are incinerated.”

“…Okay.”


	10. Slowly But Surely

“ _In…… Out….. In…. Out…”_ Sitting on the floor of her bedroom, Bea carefully timed her breathing in order to relax both her mind and body after a long day of school, followed by her duties as a gym leader. Quiet, cautious footsteps made their way closer to her and just barely cracked her eyes open to see her masked brother slowly approaching her. It had been a few weeks since she had told Allister she would be a better older sister, but not much had come from that promise yet. Allister had been terrified and would crawl to a hiding spot every time Bea approached him, and usually Bea couldn’t understand what Allister needed or wanted when he was feeling bold enough to come up to her, which led to both of them get frustrated.

Allister’s path ended up leading to a spot right next to her, where he sat down and awkwardly tried to copy what Bea was doing. Every few seconds he would try to readjust to a more comfortable position, but couldn’t find one and instead curled up on top of Bea’s bed.

“Hello Allister.” The greeting caused Allister to flinch and retreat underneath Bea’s bed.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Did you just want to see what I was doing or did you come in here because you need my help with something?” Allister slowly poked his head out from under the bed and shakily walked over to Bea. He lightly tugged on the sleeve of her shirt while pointing to the scenery outside of the bedroom window.

“Are you wanting to go outside?” A hesitant nod.

“Okay. I’ve had a really long day, so I want to get back here within an hour. If you want to stay out longer, you’ll have to go with one of my parents.” Allister quickly shook his head and gripped the fabric of Bea’s sleeve more tightly.

“Sorry, I knew that was a stupid question. Go get some shoes on and I’ll meet you downstairs.” Allister nodded and dashed off to his room while Bea waited for him at the bottom of the steps. He appeared with his shoes untied and on the wrong feet, and Bea sighed before quickly correcting the mistake.

“Lead the way. I don’t know where you have in mind. I’ll be right behind you.” Allister nodded and timidly stepped out of the front door, freezing when he saw several people look his way. Shrinking back, he retreated to the safety of hiding behind his older sister. Bea resisted the urge to take back her hand after Allister took it, still not used to any physical contact that wasn’t meant for martial arts. With the reassurance that he wouldn’t be alone in a large crowd, Allister nervously stepped out of the door and onto the path.

Bea had a gut feeling that Allister would be leading her to the cemetery, and the feeling proved to be correct. Allister took a seat in front of the double headstone where both of his parents had been laid to rest and leaned his forehead against the cool stone while tracing the etchings with his fingers. A cold feeling came over the area even though it had been blistering hot only moments before, and Bea swore she could see two spectral beings hovering above him before she blinked and they were gone. She allowed herself to shiver a bit as a multitude of ghost pokemon surrounded Allister. The sight was very eerie and Bea was terrified at the thought of these creatures following her back.

It had already happened several times, where some ghost pokemon would phase through the walls of their house in order to find her younger brother. Much to Allister’s dismay, Bea’s parents would always shoo the pokemon away and had recently put spell tags over all the doors and windows to prevent another ghastly incident, such as the gengar who enjoyed a good prank or the sinistea that liked to steal the kitchenware.

Bea was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a drifloon take Allister by the arm and start lifting him into the air. Although she didn’t believe the rumors that they would take children to the afterlife, she wasn’t going to risk it with Allister. She held Allister in her arms and shooed the pokemon away, and decided to hold onto Allister now that his head was laying on her shoulder like he was tired.

“Well we better start home. Actually, I’m getting a bit hungry and dinner wasn’t enough to fill me up. I’m going to stop by the café in the Pokemon Center and grab myself something sweet. Just let me know if you want anything.” The sliding doors opened and Bea went straight to the left, knowing the person behind the counter probably prepped her order when he saw her walking towards the pokemon center.

“Hello gym leader! The usual today?”

“Yes please, along with a small carton of chocolate milk and… Allister, did you ever decide on anything?” A shake of the head came from him. “Alright, I’ll get a pecha berry muffin for him.” Bea set Allister down, which he strongly opposed to, as Bea got her wallet out to pay the employee.

“Thank you. Come on Allister, there’s a few tables outside where we can eat before we go home.” Bea walked awkwardly as Allister had wrapped himself completely around her leg, and managed to pry him off and sit him down on an outdoor chair.

“Alright Allister, do you want to try a few bites of what I got for you?” Allister nodded and picked at the pastry, trying to decide if it was something that he actually wanted to stick in his mouth. He decided on taking a small bite, chewing for a few seconds before stopping.

“Good job for trying it, but you don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it. I’ll finish the rest if you don’t want it.” Allister nodded and grabbed a napkin to dispose of the offending food. Bea watched with concern as Allister took it over to the trash. Getting Allister to eat more than a few bites of dinner was always a struggle, and it usually ended with Allister screaming and crying as Bea’s parents forced him to eat. Even with that, he didn’t have much of a reserve and that usually led to him getting sick fairly often.

A tap on Bea’s arm interrupted her thoughts as Allister pointed to the chocolate croissant that Bea was thoroughly enjoying.

“Do you want to try a bite? _Please say no. These are my absolute favorite and I really don’t want to share-“_

“P-please…” Bea tore off a small piece and allowed her brother to try a taste. Allister hesistantly took a bite before scarfing down the rest of his portion.

“Here, it won’t kill me to trade with you this one time. Next time I’ll know to get us both one since you actually found something you enjoy eating.” Allister shook his head and tore off another small portion for himself before handing Bea the rest and climbing back in his own chair. The two finished eating in silence before Allister looked over at Bea.

“Let’s get home now. I’m tired and you seem like it too.” Bea picked up Allister per his request and toted him home. Allister quickly retreated to his room as soon as his feet touched the floor, and he came out clad in pajamas while holding a book and a blanket up to Bea.

“Let me get ready first. I need about ten minutes okay?” Allister nodded and followed Bea back upstairs, taking a seat just inside of his bedroom door while looking at the pictures in his book. By the time Bea had finished showering and getting dressed, Allister had nodded off and Bea gently shook him awake.

“Do you still want me to read to you?” Allister yawned and rubbed his eyes while handing Bea the book. He forced himself to stay awake and listen, which was difficult to do after Bea had tucked him in under a cozy blanket.

“Still awake under there?” Allister nodded and reached out for Bea’s hand.

“L-love you B-b-bea.” Bea was a bit startled since that was a phrase that never flew around her household but eventually responded.

“I love you too Allister. Try and get some rest tonight.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if I'm going to write any more of these two or if I'll just leave it at this work, but I'm open to suggestions and constructive criticism. Thanks for the read <3


End file.
